Protagonist Knows Everything - Chapter 26

“In other cases we’d have to consider, but this time our lives are dependent on this..”

“Oh, I know. I know.”

“If you know, then let’s go report this.”

“Can you come with me?”

‘What is she talking about?’

“Obviously we’re going together.”

“Huh? That’s obvious?’

I pressed my temple and then answered.  I said, “Let’s report it. As a suggestion.”

“Tay…”

“It’s almost lunch time. Let’s go eat lunch while we’re at it.”

Then Kasha smiled and said, “Yes, yes! I wonder what they’ll serve today?”

“That doesn’t concern me a single bit.”

“Oh, why are you always like that…” Kasha muttered, I ignored it and both of us went back to the tower.

After checking our room once, we made our way straight to the cafeteria.  As it was lunchtime, it was full of wizards.

Kasha managed to find Celia in the crowd. Wizards were all gathered around her to get a chance to get familiar with the hero’s descendant.

“I’ll talk to her later,” said Kasha while being intimidated by the big crowd gathered around Celia.

I thought it was better this way, but to my surprise, Celia spotted us from the crowd.

“Kasha, Mr. Taylor.”

“Ah.”

“Come over here, let’s have lunch together.”

Kasha was delighted by her overly-affectionate voice.

I shrugged my shoulders and whispered to her, “Well, we can’t help it since she called us right? Let’s go and have lunch with her.”

“It’s okay with Tay?” asked Kasha with gleaming eyes.

“It’s all right.”

Then Kasha smiled and made a beeline to her table  And I took the seat across from Celia.

“Thank you for attending the duty Kasha.”

“Hehe. Never mind.”

“It’s a shame that we can’t sit and talk peacefully amidst this major operation.”

“Fortunately the work is proceeding smoothly, the operation will be a success if this goes like this.”

‘Idiot, you’re raising a death flag.’ I just silently glanced at them when I swallowed those words.

“Yes! Oh, no. I mean…yes”

“Haha, you don’t have to be so formal with me, talk to me the way you did in the past.”

“Oh those days…”

“Although you were so little, you used to follow me all around the tower. In a way it was really refreshing,” said Celia with a relaxed voice.

“So, how was everything this morning?””

Kasha hesitated a little, and then replied, trying to sound as polite as possible.  “Oh, there was one problem…”

“Problem?”

“Yes, I think there’s something wrong with the magic circle.”

At that moment Celia’s expression changed.  “Can you be a bit more specific?”

Kasha didn’t seem to have noticed but Celia’s voice was a bit cold all of a sudden.  Kasha took out the paper as if she were a child boasting about her perfect score.

“Tay, do you have a pen?”

I handed her a pen in silence.  Then Kasha drew the pattern on the paper.  Celia’s eyes widened as she saw Kasha draw on the paper.  Other wizards around her were also watching silently.

“This is the Magic Circle I thought of,” said Kasha while showing the paper to Celia.

“……”

“I think the Magic circle on the field is a bit vulnerable to mana amplification.”

“How come?”

“It’s a three kilometer wide magic circle, the current design won’t be able to withstand the mana amplification properly.”

Celia was staring holes into Kasha with wide eyes.  But Kasha’s gaze was still fixed on the paper so she didn’t notice her.

“What’s wrong? Celia,” I asked while looking at her.

Kasha raised her head.

Celia quickly fixed her expression before Kasha could notice it and said, “Still…Kasha.”

“Huh? Yes?”

“You’ve been like this since you were little, you’ve always been bad at explaining things to others.”

“……”

“You’re still the same, I can’t understand what you’re trying to say. But whatever it is I don’t think your suggestion will be able to solve it.”

Celia glanced around and called out to the other wizards on purpose.

“Does anyone else understand this? Explain now.”

She handed the paper Kasha drew on, to the nearby wizards.  They put their heads together and looked over the patterns, and they were all rambling.

“I’ve never seen this before.”

“I’ve seen it. It was used quite a bit 300 years ago…”

“This amplification isn’t being used now right? Why?”

“It’s probably an improved version or something, magic has developed quite a bit since that war.”

Kasha cut in with a hesitation in her voice.

“It’s true that magic is continuing to develop, that design isn’t used anymore for a different reason.”

“……”

“It has been quite some time since the defeat of the demon lord, it’s just that magic amplification of that level isn’t needed nowadays; that’s why it is not used that much, not because it’s useless!!!”

The reaction from the wizards wasn’t very good.

“So? These kinds of circles were used a long time ago, you want to say you’re going to use this in this era?”

“There’s no way there’s an error in the Magic Circle that Celia-sama created.”

“Who are you in the first place?”

“It’s her, Kasha Flame.”

“The one who died during the A Plus quest?”

“Just because you cleared a few A-class quests recently you’re thinking you’re better than us?”

Their remarks were becoming more personal than factual.  I stepped in at that moment.

“So what do you want to say?”

“The idea itself is fresh, but her solution doesn’t make sense.”

One of the wizards returned the paper to Celia.  Celia glanced at Kasha. She looked at her. With that expression.

“Kasha, thank you, I know your intentions are good.”

“Celia, this is a really important matter…”

“Stop. Kasha, if you’re a wizard then you have to solve things logically, you can’t just do and say things based on your gut feeling.”

Kasha shut her mouth tight.

‘You can’t just shut up. You’re a member of the Hagnut Guild.’- I thought to myself when I realized that Kasha was still a child with trauma.

I took the chance and spoke, “But please go over it.”

“Why?”

“This is not only about our lives, the entire empire is on the line. Do you not realize that the imperial castle is in that monster’s path?”

Celia’s expression changed. I could say that she wasn’t paying much attention to me.

“If the magic circle doesn’t work, as Kasha pointed out, then who would be able to stop Dame? We will only get one chance.”

“……”

Celia was playing with her fork as I was speaking.

Kasha carefully spoke up, encouraged by my help.

“That’s right, Ms. Celia.”

“……”

“You’ve been like that for a long time, haven’t you? When I brought in some theory or idea, Celia would always sigh like that.”

“Kasha.”

“And I remember, in the end, you organized it and developed it further. Because you’re a genius. A genius who makes even the most absurd things possible…”

[KNOCk]

Celia struck the table with her fork which dug the fork into the wood.

Funny enough, at that moment the rowdy atmosphere of the cafetaria changed and silence befell us.

“Stop it.”

“Uh…sister?”

“I don’t know about anything else. But don’t call me a genius like you.”

Kasha gasped.  Celia rose up rattling her chair and spoke in a condescending tone.

“I’m leaving. I’ll think about it.”

“……”

“I’m sorry everyone, for making this fuss. Please enjoy your meal.”

She said so and then walked out.  Each of the wizards cleared their throat and then turned to eat their meals.

Except for Kasha.

She was rolled up with her head under her arms.  I slowly got up from my seat.

Kasha asked me with surprise, “Tay, Tay. Where are you going?”

“I don’t have an appetite anymore. I’ll just rip off some bread.”

“……”

“Would you like to come with me?”

She nodded her head.

***

After grabbing two loaves from my room, we went to the top floor of the tower.  You could see the great plains with a single glance from that high up on the tower.

Kasha looked down and murmured with a gloomy demeanor.  “It’s more obvious from here. That circle isn’t gonna make it.”

“Yes, I know.”

“I don’t know if you’ll believe it Tay, but… huh? You know!?”

“Yeah.”

“How do you know? You’re not even a wizard.”

I tore the bread and threw it in my mouth, answering, “Because you said it wasn’t right.”

“……”

“So I’m sure that the circle isn’t right. There’s nothing to argue about that part anymore. Let’s talk about something else.”

Kasha rubbed her eyes with the back of her arm.  However, that was not enough to stop her tears.  She was sobbing.

I said, “You’re crying again? Why do you cry so much?”

“Ahhh!! Who do you think I am crying because of?”

“Not because of me at least.”

Kasha barely stopped crying, but still spoke in a rather gloomy voice.

“Tay… Do you think she hates me?”

“……”

“It wasn’t like this back when I was in the tower. Back then she was revered as the genius of the generation. Why shouldn’t I call her that?

“Hey I am really troubled here, help me.”

I quietly recalled what happened in my previous life.

Our company had just taken in new employees. The new employees came in and the tax audit followed soon after.  At the time, the head of the finance-management team, who had three years of experience in tax audit, was in charge of the responding.

I remember that the next day the investigator uncovered a flaw.

“This is a big problem. How would you explain it?”

I also remember the look of the investigator.  If it stayed as it was, the number of zeroes in the company taxed would increase a lot.

At that time the head of finance management couldn’t even find the cause so the investigators were convinced of embezzlement.

A new recruit from the finance team, who just joined the company two months ago carefully answered, “That part. I think I can explain that.”

The newcomer slowly began to explain.

In terms of accounting and taxation, I only had basic knowledge but his explanation was made based on logic which made understanding it even easier.

At that time, I did not pay attention to the face of the investigator or the newcomer.  What I was paying attention to was his face, the head of the finance team.

He was red. It was a good thing for the company, but why did he look like that?

The reason may be the same as that of Celia.

I organized my thoughts and asked, “Do you really think Ms. Celia is a genius?”

“Huh? What are you talking about.”

“Answer.”

“Of course, my sister is a genius. I said earlier, I’m the only one who has given her my crazy ideas and she was able to develop all of them.”

‘I wouldn’t be so sure.  In the end, the way the new recruit explained the audit was good. But, it was the head of the finance team who prepared it as specific accounting data and evidence. Which one do you think was better?’

I swallowed all of those words and simply laughed it off.

“What?!”

“You were trying to say something right now!”

“It’s been years since you left the Tower of Eternity. Everyone changes with time. Don’t blame yourself.”

She kept her silence for a moment and asked, “Will Tay change too?”

“Except me.”

“The lives I have lived, the current one as well as the previous one, I still remember them. I won’t change.”

Kasha turned to me slowly.

She said while inhaling through her runny nose, “Huh. I don’t think Tay will change.”

“Okay okay. If you’re feeling good now, let’s think about what we will do in the future.”

“The magic circle has to be fixed. Of course, if we leave it as it is, there is a possibility that it will work. But because the risk is too high–”

That’s not what I was talking about. I was thinking about how to use this situation to our favour.

“I have a better idea.”

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